Chapter Summaries

Angel attended a ball hosted by Sevillea, who arranged for her to meet Trissy on a secluded balcony. Trissy had advanced to Pleasure and suspected Angel was an Assassin from Tingen; Angel left her real identity concealed as their conversation began.

• Glaint greeted Angel and invited Sevillea to dance, while Sevillea sent Angel to rest in the dining room and hinted that she would meet someone unexpected.
• Angel ate and surveyed the guests, briefly recognizing Vincent, before she searched the quieter side corridor.
• Angel entered a balcony and found Trissy there with a middle-aged man, who left them alone at Trissy's request.
• Angel recognized Trissy as the Witch from Tingen and realized she had become a Demoness of Pleasure, while keeping her own identity protected by the Madness Ring and Faceless characteristic.
• Trissy recognized Angel's necklace and asked who she was, and Angel pretended to identify Trissy as Tris.
• Trissy suspected Angel was from Tingen and asked whether she was another Assassin under Sharon Khoy.

Angel met Trissy at a ball and witnessed a frightening, abrupt shift in her demeanor before Trissy left with Prince Edessak Augustus. Sevillea tasked Angel with staying close to Trissy and reporting attempts to escape, and Trissy’s companion later delivered Angel a Communication Potion.

• Angel met Trissy, who described feeling trapped by the arrangements that brought her close to Edessak and asked for help before her expression suddenly changed.
• Trissy regained her composure, said she would play her role properly, and left with a young man Angel later learned was Prince Edessak Augustus.
• Angel told Sevillea that Trissy had promised to play her role, and Sevillea instructed Angel to get close to Trissy and report any attempts to escape.
• A middle-aged man who had followed Trissy gave Angel a handkerchief containing a sealed test tube of dark-red Communication Potion.

Angel made first contact with Trissy through a prepared mirror and learned when to try again, then investigated Lily Granger’s residence and discovered the Nighthawks were watching it too. She later contacted Lola Swann and began sharing information she had heard from Sevillea.

• Angel used Trissy’s Communication Potion on an Ice Mirror, saw a note instructing her to make contact again at five o’clock Sunday afternoon, and decided to wait before learning Trissy’s plans.
• Angel hired detective Raymond to watch Lily Granger’s residence, but he found no sign of the man who had sent threatening letters.
• Raymond showed Angel sketches of two people secretly watching Lily, and Angel recognized them as Nighthawks Lorotta and a male colleague.
• Angel told Raymond the pair worked with Sivellaus Field and claimed she trusted private detectives more than the police, then paid him another ten pounds to continue surveillance.
• Angel contacted Lola Swann through a mirror and told her she had learned information from Sevillea.

Angel discussed the Demoness Sect’s plans and Trissy’s strange behavior with Lola, who warned her about the dangers of her mission. Afterward, Angel completed a 500-pound sacrifice to Mr. Fool and received a Mystical Item made from a Shepherd Beyonder Characteristic.

• Angel told Lola that Lady Despair would return to Backlund in early December for the Demoness Sect’s Grand Plan, and that Trissy, the Prince’s mistress, was likely a Sequence 6 Demoness of Pleasure.
• Angel and Lola considered whether the Demoness Sect was colluding with the royal family, especially after Angel mentioned the Arbiter Beyonders found at Capim’s mansion.
• Lola explained that a Spectator pathway Beyonder, a powerful Mystical Item, or a High Sequence Beyonder might have controlled Trissy, leading Angel to suspect 0-08 or Trissy’s Sapphire Ring.
• Lola warned Angel to avoid drawing Sevillea’s attention and not to approach the demigod, then arranged to communicate again in a week.
• Angel performed a Sacrifice Ritual for Mr. Fool, sending 500 pounds and receiving a silver-white necklace with a crimson gemstone, made from a Shepherd Beyonder Characteristic.

Angel examined the Rose Necklace, a Mystical Item with Flesh Control and the ability to Graze up to three Beyonders, and considered whom she might use it on. At Eye of Wisdom's gathering, she sold two Potion formulas for 700 pounds, then remained behind with Sherlock and Eye of Wisdom after the other members left.

• Angel read that the Rose Necklace could Graze up to three dead Beyonders, grant three abilities from the selected soul, and manipulate flesh and blood, but prolonged use reduced her self-control.
• Angel named the item the Rose Necklace and decided not to use it casually until she had a suitable soul to Graze.
• Angel sold the Apprentice and Trickmaster Potion formulas for 700 pounds after Eye of Wisdom verified them as genuine.
• Angel noticed Sherlock at the gathering, while Darkwill was absent, and saw Kavi's spokesperson sell bullets and a flame-enhancing short blade.
• After the gathering ended, Angel stayed behind with Sherlock and Eye of Wisdom in the closed sitting room.

Eye of Wisdom asked Angel and Sherlock about their fight with the Devil Dog, then revealed that a hidden Beyonder was targeting detectives connected to the case. He offered them a commission to protect the detectives, but Sherlock refused before hearing the payment.

• Eye of Wisdom deduced that Angel and Sherlock had killed the Devil Dog together and asked whether they sensed someone watching or interfering.
• Sherlock admitted that they might have sensed another Beyonder nearby, though the person never appeared.
• Eye of Wisdom reported that someone had stolen the Devil Dog case file from Backlund Police Headquarters and sent blood-written death threats to several private detectives.
• Eye of Wisdom explained that the Devil Dog must have had a higher-Sequence master and said the detectives were likely facing that person's retaliation.
• Eye of Wisdom offered Angel and Sherlock a commission to protect the detectives and find the mastermind, but Sherlock immediately refused.

Sherlock and Angel declined Eye of Wisdom’s request to help protect the threatened detectives, but Klein later found a bloody threat inside his home. Angel contacted Trissy, who remembered meeting her but had forgotten what happened afterward and said she had woken up naked in Prince Edessak Augustus’s bed.

• Eye of Wisdom explained that the mastermind was likely a Sequence 5 Desire Apostle and offered Sherlock and Angel a share of the reward if they helped set an ambush.
• Klein told Angel he had received no threatening letter, then left her at the subway station and returned home.
• Klein found a blood-written letter warning that November 30th would be the day of death for him and the others.
• Angel used Trissy’s Communication Potion on an Ice Mirror and established contact with her.
• Trissy told Angel she remembered meeting her but had forgotten what followed, and that she had woken up naked in Prince Edessak Augustus’s bed.

Trissy told Angel how a mysterious force had trapped her in Prince Edessak’s manor and made her accept a life she hated. She asked Angel to help her escape by alerting the official Beyonders, and Angel recognized the power behind Trissy’s torment as divine.

• Trissy recounted how the Demoness Sect arranged her meetings with Edessak and how her memories and attempts to escape were repeatedly manipulated.
• Trissy said she had advanced to Pleasure in hopes of breaking free, but the control over her had only worsened.
• Trissy offered Angel the formulas for Pleasure and Affliction in exchange for help escaping, but Angel refused because the risk outweighed the reward.
• Trissy urged Angel to tell the Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, or Machinery Hivemind that Edessak was hiding her at Rose Manor so they would arrest her.
• Angel recalled Lanevus’s similar experience and recognized the frightening divine power associated with the Sapphire Ring on Trissy’s hand.

Angel refused Trissy’s request for help, while Trissy continued plotting with Talim. Later, Sherlock told Angel that the Desire Apostle had threatened him, and they agreed to work with the official Beyonders while Angel investigated in secret.

• Angel suspected Trissy’s Sapphire Ring and abnormality were connected to the Demoness Sect and refused to help her betray Sevillea.
• Trissy burned away evidence of her conversation with Angel, then met Talim and continued pretending to consider his offer to help her leave Backlund.
• Angel reviewed what Trissy had revealed, but the Magic Mirror reacted to Sherlock’s contact before she could report the information to Lola.
• Sherlock told Angel that the Desire Apostle had sent him a bloody warning naming November 30.
• Sherlock planned to report the threat and coordinate with other targeted detectives so official Beyonders could protect them and lure out the Desire Apostle.
• Angel agreed to help secretly through Eye of Wisdom’s commission, while Sherlock warned her to stay away from his home as official Beyonders began watching it.

The Tarot Club members discussed Audrey’s renewed contact with the Psychology Alchemists, Sun’s efforts to evade suspicion in the City of Silver, and Fors’s search for potion ingredients. Klein ended the meeting quickly and returned to his body, still under surveillance as he worked to resolve the danger surrounding him.

• Angel thanked the Hanged Man for arranging a Mystical Item but declined to commission another because she lacked the money.
• Audrey asked the Tarot Club for advice after another suspected Psychology Alchemist approached her, and the Fool promised the same protection as before.
• The Hanged Man and World offered explanations for why the Psychology Alchemists might be pursuing Audrey, helping her decide to keep interacting with them.
• Sun described how he used the All-Black Eye to expose and eliminate an Expedition Team member, then disguised himself as controlled by Amon to shake off suspicion.
• Fors asked for Spirit Eater’s Stomach and Deep Sea Spearfish blood, and Sun and the Hanged Man accepted commissions to find the ingredients.
• Klein swiftly ended the meeting and returned to his washroom, reflecting on the Desire Apostle and official Beyonders watching him.

Angel prepared to join Eye of Wisdom’s search for the hidden Desire Apostle while keeping Sherlock and her other investigations in motion. After Sherlock reported the threat to the police and missed the gathering, Angel stayed behind to discuss the commission and her reward with Eye of Wisdom.

• Sherlock told Angel he would report the threatening letter to the police, while Angel planned to attend Eye of Wisdom’s gathering and work under official protection.
• Angel paid Raymond’s agency to continue watching Lily Granger’s home and learned Sevillea had no new assignments for her.
• Angel met Sherman, heard that he had completed his first assassination, and told him to continue investigating the Baelens linked to human trafficking.
• At Eye of Wisdom’s gathering, Angel offered Potion formulas to Darkwill and learned that Sherlock had not attended.
• Angel stayed behind after the gathering and began discussing Eye of Wisdom’s commission and her reward.

Eye of Wisdom recruited Angel to help the Machinery Hivemind lure out the Desire Apostle, promising protection from prosecution and a share of the rewards. Meanwhile, the detectives gathered under police protection lost their nerve and turned their weapons on one another, leaving Sherlock Moriarty caught in a tense standoff.

• Eye of Wisdom explained that the Machinery Hivemind was using threatened detectives as bait to capture the Desire Apostle, and he asked Angel to help protect them and bring the culprit down.
• Eye of Wisdom assured Angel that the Machinery Hivemind would not punish unofficial Beyonders who joined the operation and would offer rewards from the Desire Apostle’s seized possessions.
• At Isengard Stanton’s house, Sherlock Moriarty listened as the gathered detectives grew increasingly distressed by their confinement and fear for their families.
• Sherlock told Stuart that the police might not catch the culprit before November 30, prompting the detectives to panic and demand to leave.
• A detective drew his revolver on Isengard, and several others pulled their weapons, turning the living room into a dangerous standoff.

Klein and the other detectives learned that the Desire Apostle had planted seeds of fear to make them turn on one another, then remained behind as bait for him. As the group waited for the attacker, Caslana suddenly attacked and broke Isengard Stanton’s neck.

• Klein dodged a detective’s gunfire and disarmed him before Caslana and Isengard stopped the panicked detectives from killing one another.
• Isengard explained that the Desire Apostle had planted seeds of fear when the detectives received their threatening letters, and that the Machinery Hivemind had escorted the ordinary people away.
• Caslana questioned why she, Klein, and Isengard had been left behind, and Isengard explained they were bait with official Beyonders waiting nearby.
• Klein sensed danger as Caslana drew her pistol and fired at him, but he rolled clear of the bullet.
• Caslana threw away her revolver, charged Isengard, and broke his neck with a kick.

Klein and the detectives were caught in the Desire Apostle’s ambush, which left Isengard near death and killed one of his assistants. The trap turned against the Apostle when Isengard recovered and Angel appeared, freezing the enemy in place as Klein prepared to attack.

• Caslana succumbed to fear and attacked Isengard, but Klein shot her wrist and stopped her from firing again.
• The Desire Apostle’s fear killed Isengard’s young assistant, whose body collapsed into a heap of severed pieces.
• The Desire Apostle appeared in the living room and prepared to kill Klein, Caslana, and the other survivors.
• Angel’s Frost power froze the Desire Apostle and the room, while Isengard healed and announced that the Apostle was there.
• Klein drew his pistol and aimed a Demon Hunter Bullet at the immobilized Desire Apostle as Angel attacked from behind.

Sherlock Moriarty, Angel, Isengard Stanton, and their allies fought the demonified Desire Apostle, who escaped their assault by turning into black liquid. Angel used the Good Luck pistol to blast him in the back alley just as five members of Machinery Hivemind entered the wrecked house.

• The Desire Apostle transformed into a Devil and cursed Isengard, but Sherlock Moriarty intercepted the attack with a Paper Figurine Substitute and fired Demon Hunter Bullets that failed to penetrate the Devil’s hide.
• Angel attacked the Desire Apostle with her Bone Sword, forcing him backward, while Isengard imitated his Devil curse and slowed him long enough for Angel to sever one of his wings.
• The Desire Apostle unleashed Mental Shock and stirred the group’s desires, frightening Isengard, enraging Sherlock, and overwhelming Angel with suppressed emotions.
• The Desire Apostle shrank into black liquid and tried to escape through the floor, but Angel fired the Good Luck pistol and blasted him through the back door into the alley.
• Five members of Machinery Hivemind entered the wrecked living room carrying Beyonder Weapons.

After the Desire Apostle escaped the Machinery Hivemind’s pursuit, Ikanser Bernard used the Sealed Artifact Arrodes to reveal the attacker’s appearance. Arrodes then questioned Ikanser about breaking his promise, and he denied that he would.

• The wounded Desire Apostle fled through the back door before the Machinery Hivemind could capture him.
• Ikanser Bernard arrived, warned the gathered Beyonders not to reveal their identities, and prepared to question Arrodes.
• Arrodes showed the Desire Apostle running through a sewer, revealing his cold blue eyes and distinctive profile.
• A Machinery Hivemind member sketched the attacker’s face as the team discussed how difficult it would be to locate him.
• Arrodes asked Ikanser whether he would break his promise for profit or another reason, and Ikanser answered no.

Ikanser used Arrodes to uncover clues about the Desire Apostle, who had been hiding in Isengard Stanton’s attic, while the investigators dealt with the aftermath of the battle. As the group began planning their next steps, Ikanser activated Arrodes again to ask about Irene Watson’s true identity.

• Arrodes showed that the Desire Apostle had been hiding in Isengard Stanton’s attic, and Ikanser sent two Machinery Hiveminds to investigate.
• Ikanser answered Arrodes’s counter-question that he would not arrest someone whose identity was unknown if they were helping the common people.
• Ikanser arranged protection for Isengard and the other detectives, then left with his subordinates.
• Lydia bandaged Caslana’s wrist while Isengard mourned his dead assistant and asked Sherlock Moriarty and Irene Watson to discuss what came next.
• In the carriage, Ikanser activated Arrodes and asked for Irene Watson’s true identity.

After the Desire Apostle’s attack, Isengard’s group agreed to remain under the Machinery Hivemind’s protection, while Arrodes revealed that Irene Watson was connected to the Church of the Evernight Goddess. Alone in her room, Angel lost control of the desires unleashed by the battle and whispered Klein’s name as someone stood outside her door.

• Arrodes showed the Machinery Hivemind an image linking Irene Watson to Saint Samuel Cathedral, then asked Ikanser whether the man he liked liked him.
• Isengard agreed that the detectives should stay together under the Machinery Hivemind’s protection, and Caslana accepted the plan.
• Isengard introduced Irene as a powerful Beyonder who had helped lure the Desire Apostle into their trap.
• Angel asked to rest upstairs, and she warned Sherlock that Isengard was probably Eye of Wisdom.
• Angel shut herself in a bedroom, surrendered to the desires intensified by the Desire Apostle’s Mental Shock, and whispered Klein’s name as a hand paused outside her door.

Angel joined Caslana, Lydia, Isengard, and Sherlock for breakfast before they discussed the hunt for the Desire Apostle. The group learned that the Church of Evernight might use a dangerous Sealed Artifact against him, and Ikanser arrived with a new clue.

• Angel came downstairs after recovering somewhat from the previous night and shared breakfast with Caslana, Lydia, Isengard, and Sherlock.
• Isengard and Sherlock prepared breakfast after Stanton had dismissed the servants and cooks following the death of an assistant.
• The group discussed their Sequence abilities, and Isengard revealed that his Mystical Item, Eye of Wisdom, could identify and simulate Beyonder Abilities.
• Isengard explained that the Church of Evernight had begun unsealing the dangerous Sealed Artifact 1-42 to deal with the Desire Apostle if he remained in Backlund.
• Ikanser Bernard arrived at the door and told the group that Machinery Hivemind had found a clue to the Desire Apostle.

The investigators searched Patrick Jason’s home and discovered that he was Jason Beria, a Devil who had hidden numerous corpses and prepared a summoning ritual. They left when the Nighthawks arrived with a dangerous Sealed Artifact, and Leonard entered the house in heavy armor as the story ended.

• Ikanser led Angel, Klein, Caslana, and Isengard to Patrick Jason’s home after the investigation identified him as the owner of the Devil Dog.
• Carlson revealed that corpses had been hidden throughout the house and garden, including the recently killed servants.
• The investigators found Jason’s portrait, evidence of his Beyonder activities, and an unfinished ritual to summon a powerful Devil; the Knowledge Keeper identified him as Jason Beria.
• Angel noticed Sherlock secretly pocket a handkerchief from the ritual site, then asked about finding other members of the Beria Family.
• Ikanser halted the investigation when the Nighthawks arrived with a dangerous Sealed Artifact, and Angel saw Leonard’s armored leg as she left.
• Leonard Mitchell entered Jason Beria’s home in heavy armor with Captain Soest and the Red Gloves.